Shloka 12
नारद-देवमत-संवादः
Nārada–Devamata Dialogue on Prāṇa, Apāna, and Udāna
सत्त्वात् समानो व्यानश्न इति यज्ञविदो विदु: । प्राणापानावाज्यभागौ तयोर्मध्ये हुताशनः
sattvāt samāno vyānaśna iti yajñavido viduḥ | prāṇāpānāv ājyabhāgau tayor madhye hutāśanaḥ |
Dijo Nārada: Quienes conocen el sentido interior del sacrificio enseñan que de sattva nacen Samāna y Vyāna. Prāṇa y Apāna son como dos oblaciones de mantequilla clarificada (ghee), y entre ambas se alza el fuego. Así, el cuerpo mismo se entiende como un altar: los alientos vitales se vuelven ofrendas, y el fuego interior las recibe.
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents an ‘inner yajña’ model: the vital airs (prāṇa and apāna) function like oblations, and the inner fire (hutāśana/Agni) receives them. This reframes ethical living and self-discipline as a continuous sacrifice, where bodily processes are governed with clarity (sattva) and restraint.
Nārada is instructing about the esoteric meaning of sacrifice, shifting attention from external ritual to an internalized, yogic understanding of yajña through the functions of the life-breaths and the inner fire.